Stations In Life
by Tomy
Summary: Michael, Kitt and Bonnie discuss Michael's position in life.


Disclaimer: Do you see Mi sitting in here? Is Kitt outside? Nope! Still not mine. pouts  
  
Stations In Life  
by Tomy  
  
Michael leaned over the barbecue again, checking on a few of the steaks, flipping a couple others and turning the potatos wrapped in foil on the top rack. He never understood why every time they got together, he was invariably the one stuck cooking.  
  
Kitt was parked nearby, playing various classical and new age tunes. He now recognised Enya, Beethoven and a few others Kitt put together that satisfied Devon's and Michael's musical tastes. It must have taken his partner a long time to dig up the music. The first time Kitt played this list, Michael had been too engrossed to notice. It was a day or so later that he came to the realisation that the music had not grated on his nerves. He'd asked Kitt about his music selections and Kitt had simply explained that he'd researched the variants in Michael's and Devon's tastes, searching for common ground - knowing there had to be some, and developed a play list suitable.  
  
It wasn't the first time his partner's efforts had touched him, but this simple act affected him deeply. He sputtered some kind of thanks, but Kitt had known his true feelings - the tone of his voice as he teased Michael's inability to express himself let Michael know everything he needed.  
  
"How they coming?" Bonnie peered over his left bicep at the grille.  
  
"Slowly, same as always," he answered brushing on more barbecue sauce to the newly flipped steaks.  
  
"They smell _sooooo_ good."  
  
"Can you please not drool on the food." Michael teased in return as he licked a smear of sauce from his thumb.  
  
Bonnie elbowed him playfully in the ribs, "not like you'd notice." She watched him for a few more minutes before walking the few steps to lean against Kitt's hood. "I'd always wondered where you'd learn to cook like that."  
  
Completely surprised, Michael turned to face her. Seeing that the comment was totally innocent, he began to realise why they always asked him to barbecue. Thinking for a few minutes, rechecking the food, his mind took him back.  
  
"I dunno," he spoke while continuing his perusal of the food before him. "Maybe the fact that my father used to spend hours at the grille making sure that everything was perfect. I guess that rubbed off on me." He shrugged, somewhat embarrassed. "We never had much, so when he did get a chance to go all out, he did it with flair." Smiling and satisfied for the moment with the way the streaks were coming along, Michael faced his friends again.  
  
Bonnie leaned back, her hands against the warm black skin under her. There were so many aspects of the man in front of her that she never truly realised - so many layers he kept hidden, or simply never felt the need to bring up.  
  
"Does it bother you?" Kitt spoke up, seemingly reading her mind.  
  
"What?" Michael glanced back at the barbecue.  
  
"How you are defined in this station?"  
  
Michael blinked, clearly taken aback. "I - I haven't thought about it in a long time actually."  
  
"It took me a long time to realise why you acted as you did when we were first partnered."  
  
Michael smirked at Kitt's prodding comment. "Yeah, well, I had a lot of issues at the time." Turning the temp down, then closing the lid partially, Michael made his way to take a load off briefly as he joined Bonnie on Kitt's hood.  
  
Bonnie had moved over to sit comfortably cross legged near the center of the bonnet. From that position, she could rest her chin comfortably on Michael's shoulder. She suddenly wanted contact with him, yet couldn't figure out where this need arose from. "What was it like?" she asked quietly.  
  
He took a deep breath, not wanting to dislodge her in the process. "My folks worked hard to support us, but we never had an abundance. Ends met, but barely. We were never frivolous - we just couldn't afford to be. Love was always available in abundance, money - material things were not. We grew up understanding that." His brow furrowed momentarily. "To suddenly lose that was. . .," his chin warbled, but Bonnie wasn't sure if she interpreted that action correctly. "Losing that was almost beyond my abilities." He finished slowly. "Kitt worked to bring me out of that, I think he knew more than he let me know."  
  
"I did. I still do," the AI interjected softly.  
  
Michael's soft smile was worth seeing. "With Kitt's help, I began to see things in a different light. That I now had access to money, to the influence that I'd always wanted - fantasized about." He chuckled shaking his head as he checked the barbecue from where he was sitting. "I was able to help out Mom, especially since Stevie and I used to help her financially when we were engaged. I'd always helped out in some form, but I'd recently been promoted and I'd taken a good chunk of the mortgage as my responsibility. When I asked Kitt to check in on my mother, I just about died. She was going through bankruptcy, about to lose the house we'd grown up in, the house she and Dad partially built - where all her memories were. I couldn't let that happen. Kitt tapped into the proceedings, and with a bit of a loan from Devon, her finances were quietly taken care of."  
  
"Is that why you were always broke?" Bonnie's head lifted from it's place against his shoulder so she could look at him face on. He had a far away look in his eyes, sad, but content.  
  
"Yeah, it took quite some time to pay that off. But I didn't really need anything. My expenses on the road were looked after and there wasn't anything else I needed - not really. I still had a small weekly paycheque that covered necessities." He shrugged. "But the playboy image stuck. It was offensive in the beginning - to think that you and Devon.... " He stopped, unsure of whether he wanted to continue on this train. "I did what I had to to get the job done. For a long time that's all there was."  
  
Bonnie replaced her chin against his shoulder, though closer to his neck this time and reached around to cover his hand with hers on his thigh. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't understand."  
  
She felt his smile against her forehead. "I know that now, and when Kitt and I talked about it, I understood why." He laced his fingers though hers. "It was a long journey, but I have very few regrets."  
  
"Would you change the events of your life if you were given the opportunity?" Kitt asked timidly.  
  
"No, never." The answer was firm and without pause. Both humans thought they heard the AI sigh in relief, causing Michael to smile again. "I've been given the greatest gifts. No one could replace you, Kitt. Not in any way, shape, or form." His free hand caressed the prow. "I meet people everyday, I help people everyday - it's what I went into to Force to do. But I would never have dreamed it could be done on this scale." His hand tightened around Bonnie's as he placed a gentle kiss on her head. "I also have a very tight knit family. One that even flesh and blood couldn't surpass."  
  
There was a pop inside the barbecue. With a quick rub to Kitt's skin and a nuzzle into Bonnie's head, he stood gracefully striding easily over to the grille to begin turning steaks again, checking their readiness.  
  
He looked over the top at his friends. "I know there are a lot of definitions surrounding 'Michael Knight', but the few that matter to me know exactly how to define my station in life." 


End file.
